Jambinbirri - Champion Bay
This superb collection of photographs, paintings, sketches, charts and maps have been chosen to depict the course of human activity on the waters and on the shores of this beautiful bay. Some of the images are well-known. Others - including the earliest known painting of the first European settlement - are newly revealed. All portray the rich history of 'the Bay'. The accompanying text provides the historical context of each, for events and developments near and far have influenced engagement with this geographically remote location and swept its inhabitants along with the rest of the world. Together, the images and narrative take us into the lives of those living in the various phases of the Bay's history, where opportunities beckoned, where dreams and schemes met the realities of an environment both demanding and generous, some succumbing, some rewarded. Residents on the shores of Jambinbirri-Champion Bay, from the First Australians to the present, have inevitably developed a strong affinity with the ever-changing but reassuringly familiar seascape that greets their westward gaze as they go about their daily circle of life. Landward, among the continuing coastal developments and the nearby agricultural and mining regions, can be found many a reminder of the past, some dating back millennia, valuable connections to our history. The images and stories of the place, the people and their activities will enlighten the reader as to why things are as they are, how this place has evolved and how it works, and why Jambinbirri-Champion Bay holds a special place in the hearts of so many.